Rethinking the Enlightenment | Historian Aviva Chomsy
May 7, 2025
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Aviva Chomsky, a historian and expert in Latin American and Caribbean studies, dives deep into the Enlightenment's legacy. She challenges us to reconsider its impact beyond traditional narratives, highlighting its connections to Eurocentrism, racism, and colonialism. Chomsky discusses the unsettling links between Enlightenment thought and the transatlantic slave trade, revealing how these historical ideas fuel modern geopolitical conflicts. She also critiques capitalism's role in perpetuating inequality and underdevelopment, advocating for a more equitable approach to economic models.
The Enlightenment, while fostering ideas of liberty and reason, simultaneously served as a justification for colonialism and racial hierarchies.
Critiques of Eurocentric progress highlight the need for inclusive knowledge systems and sustainable economic models that prioritize global well-being over exploitation.
Deep dives
Historical Context of Enlightenment and Eurocentrism
The Enlightenment is analyzed as intersecting with Eurocentrism, which emerged during a time of expanding colonialism. Although the Enlightenment is often viewed as a starting point for individual liberty and rational thought, it also contributed to the justification for colonial expansion and enslavement. Scholars argue that European hegemony, which began with colonial expansion in the 1500s, cannot be seen as a natural development but must be understood within historical contexts, emphasizing that Europe was not isolated but part of a complex global system. The ideas formulated during the Enlightenment were influenced by interactions with diverse cultures, yet they were appropriated as narratives of European dominance, leading to a distorted sense of superiority.
Racism and Scientific Justifications
The Enlightenment thought contributed to the rise of racial pseudoscience, which provided a rationale for conquering other peoples under a guise of superiority. Emerging from a rejection of religious justifications for conquest, Enlightenment thinkers created new rationales that categorized non-Europeans as inferior, facilitating colonialism. This shift away from recognizing common humanity to constructing hierarchies of civilization has significant implications for understanding historical and modern conflicts, as evidenced by the ongoing U.S. foreign policy decisions that treat certain populations as expendable. The talk illustrates how these historical patterns of rationalization extend into contemporary attitudes toward war and humanitarian crises, highlighting the continuous influence of Eurocentrism in current geopolitical contexts.
Critique of Science and Capitalist Progress
The episode critiques the notion that scientific progress alone can resolve critical global challenges like climate change, emphasizing that social and political dimensions must also be addressed. Arguments are presented against the belief in a distinct Western science, asserting instead that all cultures have developed knowledge systems that contribute to technological advancements. The discussion highlights how Eurocentric ideas of progress, particularly in Latin America, have often led to underdevelopment and exploitation rather than true advancement for local populations. This critique invites reflection on economic models that prioritize the well-being of all individuals within the planet's ecological limits, challenging the unsustainable practices rooted in historic capitalist ideologies.
What the Enlightenment a net positive or a net negative? Or is that the wrong question, and should we look at it simply as a historical period?
Join Professor of History Aviva Chomsky as she dissects one of the most important periods in modern history from the lens of a critical historian. The Enlightenment was not just a period that produced thoughts and ideas - it was an excuse and a reordering of world hierarchies.
Do you agree with her conclusions? Email us at podcast@iai.tv with your thoughts or questions on the episode!
